Miyamoto: Skyward Sword Had Too Much Opening Story; Breath of the Wild Has Less

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is looking like the jewel of the Nintendo Switch lineup, and after making fans wait more than five years since the series last main entry, Nintendo wants them to be able to get right into the action on March 3.

It’s a gameplay decision that’s divergent from the last entry, 2011’s Skyward Sword, which revered Nintendo designer and series creator Shigeru Miyamoto feels spent too much time on setting up story before starting the adventure proper.

“We may have told too much story in the beginning of Skyward Sword, and it was hard to get into gameplay, but [in Breath of the Wild] we wanted to make sure even beginners would be able to ride the horse. Even a simple mechanic like riding horses can offer a deep gameplay experience,” Miyamoto told IGN.

Skyward Sword’s opening spends a lot of time explaining backstory and having Link interact with classmates while he readies himself for his final exam. Hands-on impressions of Breath of the Wild, meanwhile, have indicated that players are out of the dark room Link awakens in during its opening and out exploring an enormous open world within minutes.

Nick has been a gamer since the 8-bit days and has been reporting on the games industry since 2011. Don't interrupt him while he's questing through an RPG or desperately clinging to hope against all reason that his Philly sports teams will win something.